Technology and Fear Meet in Reece Hirsch’s ‘Black Nowhere’ [REVIEW]

Criminal minds may hide deep in the dark web, but one woman is determined to find them. (Photo courtesy Canva)

She’s smart. She’s devious. And she’s the best at what she does. When someone creates a vast online network of crime and vice, she will do everything she can to hunt down the Internet’s latest criminal mastermind, even if it means searching the deepest recesses of the dark web. Enter Reece Hirsch’s mind bending thriller, Black Nowhere.

Thomas & Mercer

Special Agent Lisa Tanchik has a knack for catching bad guys, especially those who try to get away with bad deeds in the nethermost shadows of the Web. When she comes across a site that’s like the eBay of illegal merchandise she knows this case could make her career, especially since it sells everything from computer viruses to prescription drugs, and other exotic substances not available to the masses.

But finding the creator of such a technologically advanced website is going to be tricky, especially in a world populated by brilliant hackers and devious techies who know a billion ways to keep their true identities hidden. The thing is, Tanchik is pretty slick herself, and has a talent for creating digital disguises that get her into places other law enforcement officers can’t access. Besides, she likes wearing these masks. They indulge the part of her personality that likes the anonymity of it all.

On the other side of the case is Nate Fallon, a college student who began his site as an idealistic experiment. Because his new platform has made illegal activity more efficient, it has also put him in danger. Not only do the Feds want to shut him down, but another organization, one with monstrous criminal intent, climbs out of the depths of cyberspace and into the real world to haunt his every move.

Caught in the middle, Nate must make a decision which will forever change the course of his life. Can Tanchick find him before his site falls into the wrong hands?

With Black Nowhere, Reece Hirsch has delivered a novel that is addictive, fascinating, and utterly terrifying. Since Hirsch has a background in both law and cybersecurity, I can only imagine that the premise of this story is altogether real, or at the very least, quite possible. As such, it makes us as readers sit up and take notice, and pray that there are plenty of law enforcement agents in the wings watching all the dark web channels most of us aren’t even aware are there.

Tanchik herself is flawed, definitely, and she has her share of inadequacies. But she is also shrewd, intelligent, and driven. She is a federal agent that is persuasive and likable, yet is a woman who has more moxie than fear, with a dash of charisma thrown in for good measure. She’s not afraid to break down walls, stand up to authority, and fight for what she wants. In this case, it’s the criminal she’s pursuing.

Black Nowhere is a novel that is ripe to become a Hollywood thriller. With it’s strong female protagonist and its cloak-and-dagger storyline, it is a tale of our modern age, and is one which leaves us wanting to unplug. Because according to Hirsch, the online world is a big bad place where danger lurks behind every corner and everyone is watching, waiting to do wrong behind a curtain of code, and ultimately cash in on our ill-gained information.

Reece Hirsch(Photo by Elisa Cicinelli)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reece Hirsch is the author of five thrillers that draw upon his background as a privacy attorney. His first book, The Insider, was a finalist for the 2011 International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel. His next three books, The Adversary, Intrusion, and Surveillance, all feature former Department of Justice cybercrimes prosecutor Chris Bruen.

Hirsch is a partner at the San Francisco office of an international law firm and co-chair of its privacy-and-cybersecurity practice. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife.